Sherman F. Denton's Game Fish

Prints by Sherman F. Denton. From Game Fish of New York. New York, 1895-1907. Chromolithographs. Images ca. 5 x 10. Very good condition, except as noted.

This series of fine colored game fish was produced around the turn of the century when game fishing and hunting became more of a sport than a necessity for many Americans. It was part of the mystique of Teddy Roosevelt and other famous outdoorsmen. The images were drawn by Sherman Foote Denton, who worked as an artist for the U.S. Fish Commission at the Smithsonian Institute and developed a method of mounting fish that preserved their colors as in life. The State of New York Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission then hired Denton to illustrate their annual reports between 1895 and 1907. Denton superb drawings were printed in colors, like his mounted fish, reproducing vividly the appearance of the live fish. These are the standard by which all subsequent fish print are judged.